this is "world news." tonight, breaking news. after a seven-day hostage crisis, a 5-year-old little boy is safe. out of the bunker, heading home. his captor is dead. how did they get the child out? super bowl secrets. what really caused that blackout? did beyonce's extravaganza play a role? and what the harbaugh brothers really said to each other when the game was over. real money. we help this family turn something in their home into thousands of extra dollars tonight. and you can do it, too. and hollywood ending. the over the moon finale to the real life "blind side." and the biggest hug ever on the

biggest, happiest night. good evening. we begin with the big news, details still coming in. the tense national drama is over. a 5-year-old boy is free, rescued after all those dales held hostage in a bunker. his captor is dead. authorities carefully plotted their every move, every word, to make sure the boy came out alive. so, how did they do it? abc's geon benitez is on the ground for us in alabama tonight. >> reporter: a seven-day standoff came to an end today. the little boy taken hostage nearly a week ago, now safe. authorities entered an underground bunker, where 5-year-old ethan was held after negotiations broke down with 65-year-old jimmy lee dykes. >> mr. dykes was observed holding a gun.

at this point, fbi agents fearing the child was in imminent danger entered the bunker and rescued the child. all rig >> reporter: tonight, dykes is dead. the standoff began last tuesday when dykes shot a school bus driver and snatched ethan. the boy, who is leabelieved to e autism, was held captive in the six by eight-foot underground bunker while teams carefully negotiated through a ventilation pipe. dykes allowed what authority called comfort items to be sent down that pipe. toys, coloring books, potato chips and ethan's medication. police were careful not to anger dykes, believed to be watching news reports in the bunker, and even thanked him at one point. >> i want to thank him for taking care of our child. that's very important. >> reporter: by night, police flew drones over that bunker, looking for signs ethan was still alive. all this, as the small town in alabama watched and prayed. just today, a group of children made birthday cards for ethan,

who will soon turn 6. >> he's my friend and i love playing with him. >> reporter: tonight, hugs and thanks, now that the town's prayers have been answered. and tonight, we don't know exactly how fbi agents got into that bunker. but we can tell you that we did hear a loud explosion, or, at the very least the sound of a loud weapon, diane. >> that must have been terrifying. but tell me, gio, anything we know about the condition of the child? >> reporter: well, we're told that he is physically unharmed. that is the good news. in fact, perhaps telling us that we saw an ambulance leave the scene and that ambulance had its lights and sirens off. >> and i know that was a relief to you, gio, as well. it's been a long week watching every minute of this. we thank gio benitez. and of course, the story is another headline about gun violence. and today, president obama traveled to minneapolis to raise pressure for gun legislation.

here's abc's chief white house correspondent jonathan karl. >> reporter: faced with an uphill battle in congress, the president took his campaign for new gun control measures on the road today. >> we're not going to wait until the next newtown. >> reporter: central component of the president's new plan is kwooifring virtually anybody buying a gun is a background check. but the audience in minneapolis has seen that that's not enough. last september, just a few miles from where the president spoke, minnesota suffered its worst ever mass shooting. 36-year-old andrew engeldinger went on a rampage at this sign store after he was fired. shooting and killing six employees. according to his parents, he was mentally ill and refused treatment. here's the thing. he legally bought his gun here after passing a background check. >> our son struggled for years with mental illness. in the last few years, we no longer have had contact with him. >> reporter: the local sheriff met with president obama and

believes the current system simply misses too much. >> we've identified gaping holes in the background checks. it's really become what is america's dirty little secret about these background checks. >> reporter: last year, there were nine mass killings in the u.s. eight of the gunmen had a history of mental illness. background check is only as good as the data base used to check a gun buyer's record. consider this. only 12 states actively submit mental health records to the federal data base. the president proposed fixing this by giving states money to improve recordkeeping and by urging doctors to report credible threats of violence to law enforcement. mental health experts say the other key to fixing the problem is identifying and treating those with mental illness at a young age. the white house wants to give states the resources to do that, but that is going to require money and it is also the kind of thing that will take a long time to actually show result. >> a long time. how soon? what is the soonest? >> reporter: well, it's going to take awhile because you have to go in, you have to establish a system, to go in and eidentify

people, treat them and give the experts the ability to report who they are concerned about. something they are not normally inclibed to do. >> but the president is out firing up the public, because his own team has been a little bit hesitant? >> reporter: no doubt. harry reid, with george stephanopoulos on sunday on "this week," saying that he's not even con vinvinced on the af the president's plans. >> jonathan karl, thank you so much. and now, we turn to your money and a big spike tonight in the price of gas. up 18 cents in one week. the average price now $3.54. and we also learned today americans now spend more of the family budget on gasoline than any time in the last four years. $2,912 a year and that's 4% of the family budget. and now to an abc news exclusive, with the inspiring young girl targeted by the taliban. just because she wanted girls to go to school.

tonight, malala yousafzai speaks. abc's bob woodruff has talked to her father, as well, about the fragile young girl full of so much passion and purpose. >> reporter: malala's journey from this to this is nothing short of a miracle. and today, for the first time, people heard her voice. >> today, you can see that i'm alive. i can speak. i can see you. i can see everyone. and i'm getting better day by day. it's just because of the prayers of people. >> reporter: prayers and letters sent to this young girl who became a symbol of hope. she was just 12 when the taliban shut down her school. public crew said began. >> i have the right of education. i have the right to play. i have the right to sing. i have the right to talk. i have the right to speak. >> reporter: her actions made her a target. last october, she was brutally attacked. gunmen entered her van and shot her at point blank range in the head.

she was medevaced to england in critical condition, but she refused to die. the bullet glanced off her skull, traveled cown her check and into her shoulder. incredibly, it didn't enter her brain. as her story spread, so did her following. i spoke with her father, a schoolteacher himsf. malala has become a hero. she has now triggered a huge movement around the world. she gets letters from children. >> malala is incredible. >> reporter: they have made videos for her. have you ever imagined it would be this kind of reaction to what happened to her? >> i think malala is an inspiration for the children all over the world. when she fell, pakistan stood and the whole world supported her. >> reporter: today, malala was sitting up in bed after five hours of surgery this weekend, to repair her skull and damaged ear. she released a video statement, talking about her new fun. >> i want to serve. i want to serve the people.

and i want every girl, every child, to be educated. and for this reason, we have organized malala fund. >> reporter: what are you trying to accomplish by the fund? >> our aim and our dream is to educate children. especially girls, because when you educate girls, you educate the whole family. you educate a generation. you educate all other coming children. >> reporter: the challenge is enormous. today, there are 32 million girls around the world who are not in school. now, while that fund is ayet to get off the ground, she's recovered now. and on the left side, you can see she was paralyzed on the left side. hopefully, between the next nine months to 18 months, the doctors working on the nerves, she can get back to normal. >> but her words are so powerful. incredible. >> reporter: she's moving people. really is. >> sure is. bob woodruff reporting in. and now that big event. tonight, it is official.

the super bowl, the third-most watched tv event in history. 108 million of us tuned in to watch those dueling brothers, beyonce and the blackout. josh elliott answers some morning after questions about that big night. flacco. touchdown. >> reporter: the game was furiously paced from the start. and a little one-sided. the baltimore ravens overpowered the san francisco 49ers. taking a 28-6 lead, fewer than two minutes into the third quarter, when suddenly -- >> one big click of the light switch. and we lost power. >> i think some point -- >> reporter: a clearly frustrated john harbaugh, screaming at anyone who would listen. in this case, that's the vice president of game operations, as the ravens coach demanded to know when communications would be restored. back upgenerators powered roughly half the lights in the

stadium until after 34 long minutes. the superdome flickered back to life. still, the delay caused twitter to erupt. as it parsed the oddest 34 minutes in super bowl history, at a rate of some 230,000 tweets per minute. one person tweeting, "if you liked it, you should have put a backup generator on it." nfl commissioner roger goodell insists the league had a backup plan. >> there was another system that they were ready to reboot. ♪ >> reporter: there's no indication at all that any of this was caused by the halftime show, which prior to the blackout, had been the big moment of the night. and for those wondering, beyonce's electrifying turn, the work of some 600 crew members in just 11 minutes, was run entirely on generator. and so, when the game resumed, momentum shifted to the san francisco 49ers, and they mounted a furious comeback, that

would fall one play short. and in the end, it was older brother john who wld come out on top. and a final snapshot, as all eyes fell on the brothers harbaugh. >> you feel an incredible amount of elation with an incredible amount of devastation. >> and josh elliott, back here with us. so, let's go back to the blackout. what was it like under the dome there? because watching from home, we couldn't be sure how dark it was, which half? >> reporter: disconcerting to say the least. and the time we now live, when you enter a super bowl stadium and you pass the security personnel and checkpoints, it's hard not to imagine at least for a moment, the worst of your fears. and it felt, if only for a moment or two, that perhaps that had come to pass. pl it does appear it was nothing more than the sure reel and historic kicking of a plug. >> this is going to be a long-told tale. thank you so much, josh. great to have you back. and still ahead here on "world news," we help one family

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but since you're competing with the pros, you still have to make your space appetizing. interior designer cathy hobbs says there are easy tricks to transforming your spare room into a rentable oasis. tip number one, clear out the clutter, including those family photos and personal touches. what do you think of the color? >> i mean, it's white. it's boring. >> reporter: tip number two, paint makes rooms feel bigger. >> i think this is looking pretty good already. >> reporter: tip number three, instead of buying new furniture, reuse what you already have. we found a dresser and nightstand from around the house. >> close my eyes? >> reporter: and just a few hours later, just look at the difference. >> oh! >> reporter: in fact, the whole room peoples bigger and brighter with that fresh coat of paint and new seating area. tip number four -- home rental sites will send a professional photographer to your home to take photographs. for free. in all, we spent $239 on improvement and appraisers told

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and at the top of our "instant index" tonight, guess what they found under a parking lot in england? the 528-year-old bones of one of its most powerful and per veers kings ever. weir told by shakespeare that richard iii had a curved spine and a wicked heart. a ruthless fighter killed in battle. >> a horse! my kingdom for a horse! >> well, look at that skeleton they found buried beneath the parking lot. the curve in the spine, evidence of severe scoliosis, the kind that might get you labeled the hun hunchback king. and, a gape in the skull. a fatal blow in battle? but the clincher, a dna match. the british tracked down a known descendant of king richard's sister, who showed a match with the dna in those bones. eerie to think the hunchback

king has some to greet us once again. >> now is the winter of our discontent. and tonight, the water cooler debate of the day here. which super bowl ads topped your list? well, "usa today" ranked them and number one, the collides dales. the foul we showed you last friday. today, there was a picture of the foal getting the news. and, by the way, she will be named later this week. number two on the list, the tide commercial, the magic stain. remember that one? and number three, radio legend paul harvey, advertising the dodge ram with a salute to america's farmers. >> god said, i need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the fields, milk cows again, eat supper, then go to town and stay past midnight. so, god made a farmer. >> and here's to all the farmers in my life, too. and you can see the entire list of winning ads on our website, abcnews.com. coming up, the fairy tale

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it's specific treatment for diabetic nerve pain. to hear more of phyllis's story, visit lyrica.com. finally tonight, the story that inspired the movie "the blind side" has an impossibly happy ending. abc's steve osunsami on a big football star, the woman who adopted him and the dream they didn't even dare to dream. >> reporter: it was a powerful moment. >> we just both darted for each other and he picked me up. >> reporter: this picture of an emotional leigh ann touhy huggin her adopted son "big mike" who some neighbors felt that she and her family should never have taken in. >> he was so excited, and i was just sobbing. i mean, i was absolutely sobbing.

>> reporter: and now he's a super bowl champion. >> we won the super bowl! >> dreams do come true. >> reporter: theirs is the true story behind the film "the blind side." where sandra bullock won an oscar for her portrayal of a white mother who reached past her comfort zone to lift up a young black teenager from a broken home. >> he is your family, michael. you have to protect them from those guys. >> reporter: the actress had seats at the game and dressed her son in oher's jersey. today, on their drive back home to memphis the real leigh anne told us she loves michael just as much as her biological children who joined the whole family last night. >> families don't have to match. you don't have to look like someone else to love them. the thing that needs to be addressed here is, there are wonderful kids all over this country and this world that want a forever family and we believe there are no unwanted kids. just unfound families. >> reporter: oher played a good game, blocked his man as well as he could and spoke with abc news anchor josh elliot during the celebration. >> i'm in shock right now. it's so unbelievable.

>> reporter: his parents tell us they're so proud. and it's so very special seeing one of their children achieving his dream. steve osunsami, abc news, atlanta. >> by the way, she told us after the game, michael's got great hands, great feet, a great head. we maybe gave him a pair of wings to fly with. we thank you so much for watching. "nightline" will be here later at its new time, 12:35 a.m. eastern, and we'll see you again tomorrow night. until then, good night.